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PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY OF PALAIA ROUMATA

Against the increase of the renewable energy sources (RES) tax which results in rising electricity bills in favor of the industrial renewable energy sources.

An open assembly took place in PalaiaRoumata, on Sunday 27/10/2013, raising the subject of theΕΤΜΕΑΡincrease (gaseous emissions reduction green tax on electricity bills) and other current issues concerning the mountain area of ApopigadiChania, with the participation of citizens from Chania, Selino, PalaiaRoumata, Voukolies and other villages. We decided to oppose every anti-popular measure which leads to impoverishment and undermines our dignity. We propose the formation of people’s committees at the villages of our provinces and everywhere else, from which a coordination body will emerge for the best coordination of the local communities fight.

The assembly has decided to invite anyone who is against the unjust and illegitimate decision of the ΕΤΜΕΑΡ increase,to sign in view of the appeal to the Council of State, aiming foremost at the cancellation of the 323/2013 ΡΑΕ[1] decision concerning the ΕΤΜΕΑΡincrease, i.e. the special gas emissions reduction tax imposed on electricity bills in the behalf of ΛΑΓΗΕwhich is the operator of electricity market. The deficit of the special ΛΑΓΗΕ account is the source of funding for the guaranteed market prices system for the energy produced by the renewable energy facilities (so called feed-in tariffs for renewables).

Our target is one: Resistance struggle and counter attack against every political and economic measure imposed by the lenders and their submissive domestic clique, which affects our living standards and dignity. We ask for the withdrawal of all support schemes for the renewable energy sources. We ask for the socialization of all industrial renewable energy power stations, of all technologies, at the municipalities where these have been installed, in favor of the citizens.

As a result of the ΡΑΕ 323/2013 decision, the average price of the ΕΤΜΕΑΡ tax was doubled. From 7,50 E/MWh between the period August 2012 to June 2013, it was raised to 14,96 €/MWh for the second semester of 2013. Whereas households paid 9,53€/MWhand high voltage consumers 3,55€/MWh (per unit), after the controversial decision households will pay 20,80 €/MWh, while industrial consumers, mines and airports only 1,79 €/MWh. Other consumer groups face high increases, such as farmers, the crafts sector, and the middle class consumers. In reality, they are stealing money again from the poor, through their allegedly green taxes (the ΕΤΜΕΑΡ tax on renewables, impending environmental taxes on energy) and giving it to the rich, through subsidies and guaranteed prices in support of an interruptible and demand unresponsive energy generation from the renewable energy program, which causes high inefficiencies and damages to the grid. These are supposedly environmental taxes- taxes which are forced upon the weak households and other consumer groups. On the contrary, there are no laws and/or tax regulations to provide aid for the installation of renewable energy generators at household level for saving energy. The only existing is the monstrous legislative framework enforced by multinational companies’ directorate which resides in Brussels and by the local kleptocratic regime, in favor of the big companies whose funds and subsidies come from our pockets. The evident and anticipated impact of the heavily imposed at the expense of the poor, legislative framework for the renewable energy sources,which further widens the unequal income distribution, is the promotion of the complete privatization of the power plant units, the lignite mines and electricity transmission and distribution system-the drivers being the RES (renewable energy sources) and CHP (combined heat and power) plants-and large increases of the bills paid for electricity. The events of peoples’ forced displacements from their lands, with multiple charges pressed against them, for the installation of industrial wind farms are well known, as in the case of Apopigadi of Chania in Crete and other places. In reality, though it may be hard to conceive this concerns property encroachments and changes in the use of land, funded by all of us. It’s about an unprecedented, in terms of scale, looting of non renewable, invaluable for humanity natural resources.

OUR COUNTRY’S MOUNTAINS ARE NON RENEWABLE-THEY ARE NOT TO BE GIVEN AWAY

They say, that the purpose of the industrial RES is environmental protection through the reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, while Kyoto is forgotten and CO2 emissions globally rising, while we all know well, that they are promoting, through legally binding regulations, the subsidized installation of useless for electricity production, unreliable and interruptible energy generation units of power far below its nominal values. This is about the use of unproductive, destructive (considering the impacts on European industry-economy and the citizens), «economic leverage» in favor of only a few sectors of the European industry and particularly of German companies which promote the so called «smart energy» technology. This means the technology of centrally controlled electrical power, through which the submission of the people of Europe to the sovereign elites and their political personnel of politicians will be completed. The target of the multinational companies, through the political services offered by the two stronger groups in the European parliamentand elsewhere, is the complete control of the energy sector, the seizure of the land and water, the economic desolation-absolute submission of European citizens.

Our aim is the withdrawal of:

A)Article 5, for «rationalization (!!) of pricing for energy produced by renewable energy and combined heat and power plants», of the 3851/2010 law and of all the related ministerial decisions.[2]

B)No. A.Y./Φ1/οικ.19598 ministerial decision, for the intended analogy between installed capacity and its time distribution among different renewable energy technologies. (Official government gazette issue no. B 1630 11 October 2010 (articles 3 and 4 of 2009/28/EU Directive))[3]

In addition, we ask for the cancellation-reversal-modification of all provisions related to the special tax for funding the industrial RES, which besides, should be measured as proportionate to one’s electricity consumption. We argue that there is a violation of the Community law on competition and that there are no existing and/or proven reasons to justify public support measures for industrial renewable energy sources on European level, these measures related to priority access and guarantied access to electricity produced by RES. We argue that, in violation of the Aarhus Convention, the so called National Action Plan (NREAP) for the attainment of the 20% share of renewable energy in 2020,never became a subject of public consultation, as well as that it was submitted without the completion of an assessment related to the environmental, social and economic impacts on the country’s economy, especially given the current economic state.

For that, an appeal for an interlocutory question to the European Court of Justice will be filed to the Council of State, simultaneously to the appeal for withdrawal of the above.

-We argue that the binding Community and National overall targets and measures for the use of energy from renewable sources introduced by the 2009/28/EC Directive of 23rd April 2009 are non-sustainable,because the above mentioned regulatory framework does not refer to the RES as primarily energy saving technologies,bypassing the limitations of renewable energy technologies, the laws of nature and the impacts of the Directive on the Member State economies and the environment.

We argue that the Directive must be abolished or amended

-We argue, that no sustainability criteria have been established for the wind power stations and that the implementation of the industrial wind energy programs in our country and the European continent, lead to the genocide of the protected bird species as encoded in the 79/409/EEC Directive, to the complete degradation of the areas which belong to the European ecological Natura network, are detrimental to the health of those citizens unfortunate to be neighbors of wind energy facilities and cause declining property values and harm tourism, not to mention the whole range of other documented problems.

-We argue that the measures supporting industrial renewable energy sources, through public funding and FIT systems, lead to further downfall of the National Economy, to the energy poverty of the financially weaker groups of the population, to the absolute environmental degradation of the Country and foremost, we argue that they represent a direct threat to Europe’s energy security.

-We call upon the Commission and the European Parliament to promptly revise the whole legislative framework related to the renewable sources of energy, in view of the European elections, and we warn of the possibility of them being charged for the subsequent large scale damages caused by the obscene and destructive European renewable energy program which they have imposed on the industries, the businesses and citizens.